This book is subtitled: "And 5 Others That Didn't Help". It is an indictment of a collection of books that have had really bad ideas that were widely believed and have become part of our reality. Writers of the earliest books often influenced the writers of the later books. Benjamin Wiker summarizes each book's arguments and refutes them and explains why they have been so harmful. The point of view is that of a conservative Christian.
General rating: 4 out of 4
1. Is it plausible? Yes. It is, of course, one man's point of view and is not meant to be a "balanced" treatment of any of the books included. A critic is quoted on the back of this book describing Wiker's summaries as "poison pen portraits" and it's a good description of his approach. He tears these arguments and their authors up--with the quotations and the research to back it all up.
2. Is it thought provoking? YES, YES and, uh, YES. I actually feel that I need to read it at least one more time just to get it all straight and clear in my mind. It was very interesting and there were many phrases and even paragraphs that I wanted to write down and read repeatedly. Here's one: "What is ideaology? We live in such an ideological age that it's hard for us to distinguish good thinking from bad. The crucial distinction is that ideaology is not philosophy. Philosophy is the love of wisdom, the love of what is real, whether we happen to like it or not. It is the desire for truth, and the continual humility to remold our desires to fit reality. Ideology comes at truth from the opposite direction, molding truth to what we happen to desire. Because it has no compunction about refashioning truth to fit our desires, it has no hestitation, in the hands of someone like [add your despised ideologist's name here], in refashioning reality according to our cravings. Pseudo-science is thus the handmaid to ideology. Politics is its hammer."
Whew! See what I mean? Yes! This book is nothing if not thought provoking.
3. Is it engaging? Surprisingly, yes. It took me a few days to get through this book because it was thought provoking and I needed "digesting" time, but it was engaging enough for me to read continually if only my brain were up to the extra work!
4. Is it uplifting? I thought so. It was freeing, for one thing. And it's always a rush of sorts when you read a book of ideas that dovetail with your own! I really enjoyed reading a book that made connections between some "classic" ideaologists and the "sacred" ideology in our own world today.
Language: none
Sex: there were notations of the sexual deviances of a few of the writers (e.g. Kinsey) that were a bit disturbing. But they weren't included for titillating purposes, but to illustrate (referring to my e.g. above) Kinsey's "reality" which, in turn, informed his "ideology" (I'm gonna have to start using that word in casual conversation--especially if I can manage to contrast it with philosophy in the same conversation!!).
My recommendation: A good read for anyone who considers him/herself a "thinker". I have a very tenuous grasp on many of the ideas written about in this book and it was good for me to know more. I also feel encouraged to make my own study of these authors so I can see for myself where my own disagreements lie. Wiker's prose was very accessible. The ideas are less accessible, but Wiker makes it as easy as possible to digest the things he is explaining. A very enjoyable book.
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